Remember when Lynn Swann said after the Pac-12 title game that Clay Helton would be back next season?
Well, at the Cotton Bowl, I hear Swann was asked by a USC alum what he thought of USC winning 21 games the past two years. He answered that the number of victories was not as important as the quality of teams you defeated. Who did USC beat that was a quality team?
Meanwhile, if you want read about two teams that did not underachieve this season, here’s a preview of the Rose Bowl.
Wanna bet Swann called Del Rio ? Let’s hope JDR said yes and we can finally be rid of Gomer and his clown staff once and for all
dream on.
I guess you like Gomer and his clown staff ?
Please, please please hire Del Rio and his losing coaching record. Kelly will hand him his lunch in recruiting and on the field.
You said the same thing when SC hired PC, who did that work out you loser
It worked out that you almost got the death penalty and paid players, loser.
Enjoy fat boy, who cheated, you F’ing dope
yeah and good ole’ granpa from he)) woodie the peckerhead got a certified white wash the kind given every corrupt demokwat admin.
If Del Rio was HC I would be certain the defense would be lights out and the gutties would never score no matter who westwoods coach was. And I am not even in support of hiring JDR.
Yeah a number of readers may not like it but, OK and GA are in the final four. Kirby Smart (GA) did it in 2 years where it took Lincoln Riley (OK) a mere one year.
Thank you again Pat ‘Capper’ Haden
When you make decisions in a Scotch haze and you’re lazy on top of that, what do you expect ?
Inheritance, real simple. But there is your instant gratification you so desperately need. Gruden did the same thing.
Whatever stevie hey thanks for being the eyes and ears for all of us …. show us the way….
No problem, just be still and follow along nicely little guy.
If only….why? Clay…..show us the way…..steveg believes in you
It is probably best if we don’t reply to one another or even better just block each other and be done with this unending horsesh*t.
Ok….(sniffle…..wahhhhhhh!)
Kiffin inherited a loaded program and had a preseason #1 team and they went 7-6 and lost the Sun Bowl to Georgia Tech and now some people actually want him to come back here!
Bad habits are hard to break sometimes. Remember the transfers after PC left and his last season was what 9-4? They quit recruiting linemen Petes last couple of seasons. His son was the coordinator.
Pat “Single Malt” Haden has a better ring to it.
Yes. If you want to blame a key person, then Haden was the problem. Helton should of never been hired. But he is the head coach and we cannot fire a coach that just won the Pac-12 championship, no matter how pathetic we should up on the national stage. It sucks, but that the reality we are in at the moment. Kelly (ND) cleaned house and performed better. Hopefully Helton will do the same.
Yes you can, Don Clark was fired after he went 8-2, couldn’t beat ND or ucla, Gomer can’t neat anyone good, see ya !
When Haden started announcing for our true rival ND I knew he had gone to the Dark Side, as Gollly Noiidd would say.
Yeah noticed how fast Kelly did that last year – made some good selections. Not sure Hwelton even knows how to assay a potential top tier or potentially up and coming assistant – his brother, his kid. Prendergast was brought in I recall by out side pressure. i.e. I’d like to think he has that skill but based on his demeanor I believe, as others have alluded to, he doesn’t seem to mix well with strong personalities.
For the last three years I’ve laid blame for this entire fiasco on The Capper, who I’m convinced is a double agent for ND.
Double vote up for “double agent”
At least, thanks to uncovering the Mayr scandal Haden’s done us the favor of ‘vanishing’
I hear that he said he was screwed having a coach with so many wins and won’t do anything except help get some new staff. Guess it all depends which rumor you want to believe.
Stanford X 2.
Georgia, and Oklahoma hired coaches with proven resumes, it’s that simple, when was the last time USC did that? You don’t need to be a rocket scientist to hire a credible, head coach .
Never!! Coaches at USC have never come in with the knowledge of the culture at SC. It is a tremendous learning curve to coach according to the standard of the school.
Jack Del Rio played at USC but has repeatedly said no thanks to a position as head coach.
Really ? Aside from Larry Smith and PC, all of SC’s hires since Howard Jones had either played or coached at USC, what did they not get about SC ?
My impression is that SC has been too focused on insiders, certainly since PC left, and thus creates too narrow of a search.
LOL,
Sam Barry
Jeff Cravath
Jess Hill
Don Clark
John McKay
John Robinson
Ted Tollner
J Rob 2
Paul Hackett
Kiffen
Sark
Helton
That’s since 1940, all played or coached at USC, and you think this is a recent thing ?
My point is that SC pedigree played a significant role in the recent choices of Kiffin, Sark, and Helton at HC, and Haden at AD. I would like to believe that there were better choices available at the time the decisions were made (maybe not with Kiffin, given the sanctions.)
My point is that since 1940, SC has hired ONE coach with ZERO USC TIES, Larry Smith. PC never played or coached at USC, but his daughter played volleyball there.
One non SC affiliated coach since 1940.
Understand the history. I don’t know how important the SC pedigree was in those much earlier searches, but it seems to be much too important recently. The simplest due diligence would have ruled out Sark. Complete lack of experience in athletic administration should have ruled out Haden. Hoping that Swann performs better.
You forgot Carroll.
He didn’t play or coach at SC
Pete Carroll didn’t coach at SC? Are you crazy??????
The question above was when has USC hired a name coach? The answer (mine) is never. But thanks for playing.
Would Robo II qualify?
I never quite got the idea behind his hiring a second time but it was disgraceful the way they fired him.
Howard Jones
That is why the AD is so important. There are a number of programs that are succeeding because they picked the right people. Wisconsin is winning over 70 percent for more than a decade, and this is with recruiting classes in the 35-40 range. Northwestern is succeeding in the Big 10 with classes in the 50-60 range.
Exactly
Part of that is because these recruiting rankings are clearly full of crap sometimes and filled with misevaluations or fail to consider numerous factors.
For instance, USC got enormous credit for bringing in fat slug Zach Banner, who would never have started at WIS over some 2-3 star guy who was better,
Jack, I agree that the rankings are imperfect. Another way of looking at this is in terms of offers, and programs such as Wisc and Northwestern are getting a lot out of kids who didn’t get offers from the best schools. Happy New Year to you and yours!
I would say the recruiting rankings are oftentimes downright laughable, not just imperfect. How do you explain Whitney Lewis being a 5-star? It was obvious when he showed up at USC on day 1 he would never play a down.
As far as NW goes, check out their 4-year record prior to this season. Fitzgerald finished a dismal 27-23. He would have obviously been fired at USC, ALA, OHIO ST, et al.
Happy 2018 to you too partner. Will be interesting to see what changes Helton makes in the next 60 days.
Absolutely. it would be outstanding if replacing some on the coaching staff would be the ticket to significantly improving performance against the best programs, through better training and teaching, preparation, and discipline. But it all starts at the top….fingers crossed.
Bottom line if our TE block anything other than air Rojo has 2 TDs, one a 40+ harder and SD has at least 1
So who is coaching the TE’s who can’t block ? Gomer’s buddy Callaway ?
Wrong Gomer it’s Baxter. TE is a tricky position, not that I expect you to understand. They have to block and be a threat in the passing game. Our TE Friday did neither well. It would be one thing if OSU was getting home w 4 rushers and SD was repeatedly blindsided. OSU regularly rushed 5-7 and even then SD had opportunities to get rid of the ball. His ball security is awful, but that also allows him to be more fluid when scrambling. What is clearly not understood on this board is how ineffective our TE blocks were in the running game. All those negative run plays were not blown up by the middle of the line, they came off the edge where even a chip gives Rojo a chance to get upfield. We saw it happen once or twice and Rojo was very close to breaking one. If the TE blocked decent we put up a lot of points and OSU has to back off their pressure package.
And then every once in a while you get the 5 star that should have been a 6 star. AJ, Juju come to mind. Like a box of chocolates, right?
Recruiting is also about needs, balance, synergy, leadership, work ethic, system fit, and of course luck too. For many years now, USC has struck out on its o-line recruiting, which has sorely compromised more talented parts of the team.
This weak link has literally rendered USC helpless against certain types of teams, like ALA, and ND as well as OHIO ST this season. And we had to win ugly a lot.
So far, with this recruiting class coming in, OL is again thin. We’ll see if Helton can address this. If he can’t, all the other superstars won’t get USC over the hump and nothing will change.
Northwestern has to recruit kids who can read, unlike Clemson, Bama, OSU etc etc, so the pool of players is far less for them
Yes, the Northwestern kids have to be able to academically compete, and compete not just in classes designed for athletes. It is not trivial for those kids to remain academically eligible.
They compete with Duke and Stanford for recruits.
It’s pretty clear you don’t have a clue when it comes to why players don’t reach their potential. Here’s a hint, the lousy coaches you have continued to back (Kiffin, Sarkisian and now Helton) not one of those three can coach worth a crap. And the offensive personnel that they’ve hired, can’t coach either. And you wonder why players never developed or reached their full potential under any of those clowns?
You’re as clueless as they all are.
It’s clear you’re a lying t*u*rd. I never wanted Sark. Only a creepy idiot like you would say he was my guy.
And Zach Banner was a fat slob from the word go, lacked athletic talent, feet, balance, and should never have been signed by USC.
You’re a weirdo who thinks every player has all-conf potential. Could you be more dumb? No.
The only thing you need is an AD with just a little tiny bit of ambition to do his due diligence, which Haden never did. He probably looked out the window and saw Helton and sent his assistant out to tell Helton he was hired. Anything like work interfered with his single malt time.
And golf!
According to your philosophy Clemson made a huge mistake promoting Dabbo Swiiny. I’ll call their AD and let him know. Lincoln Riley a proven resume? Of exactly what?
Lincoln Riley was a REAL offensive coordinator, not a figure head like the ones USC’s been hiring
How was he a “real” O coordinator? Do you have inside info on how OUs coaches run their game prep and play calling? Lincoln Riley would not have been a candidate for a HC position at any other school or if Stoops hadn’t retired at the last minute. By the bar you’ve set for hiring he is competely unqualified.
I’m not here to argue with anybody, I make comments, and keep it stepping.
USC beat USC this season in both of the humiliating losses USC committed more mistakes than points. I know readers of this blog hate Helton and would do so if the team went 13 and 0 but being honest Helton’ s last major mistake was not starting Darnold. Some argue it was not canning the assistant coaches after last season but it is hard to fire a guy after the team wins.
The most recent loss was on the players. I can’t guess whether they were too excited or too laid back but they dropped the ball and left the coaches to deal with it.
Alabama, big stage, BOMBED
ND, big staged, BOMBED
OSU, big stage , BOMBED
Penn St, big stage, SEVEN STRAIGHT TD’s by PSU, miracle SC comeback
See a pattern here ? The team isn’t ready for the big stage, who prepares the team ? He!!, we have a player who is awed by the stadium in Dallas, really ?
Again Gomeie, you missed my point. Those 7 touchdowns came from refs help. But my point is a reply to the question “What quality teams had USC beaten this year?” The naked fact is USC beat USC. Bringing in last year’s Alabama game helps my point. The deer in the headlights quarterback Helton was stuck with never lived up to his potential. But USC players made the mistakes not the other team made great plays. Too many times we blame the coaches for stupid players. I guarantee no USC coach ever told the quarterback go out there and throw an interception.
At least we didn’t see them laughing after making the mistakes. I was impressed with USC’s lack of penalties in the CB. That may have been because of the SEC refs and the hoopla of it being a bowl game though. But the typical illegal procedures by the O line seemed to be cured.
Little good it did. Our OLs still couldn’t block the run or the pass and we literally set records for sacks and TFL. It was a sight to see!
When it comes to leadership, LSwann is MIA. His comment about not getting involved re: assistant coaching decisions after the PAC 12 CG was both idiotic and an indictment of his empty headedness.
He was decisive with the womens vollyball and basketball teams.
Haden was decisive too and look where we are? A quick decision is usually a poor one.
That is a good point.
Drove up to the campus yesterday around 9:45 am – amazed at now few cars there were considering there was the Ram kickoff at 1:15 pm – very light traffic. More amazing is the naivete of Ram fans who like sheep keep getting gouged parking their cars rather than park north of the campus and walk through – after the game is over by the time they get back to their cars most of the traffic has dissipated.
Strange walking along Jefferson – north side between McClintock and Hoover remembering the old ‘901’ and LAFD as well as the decrepit Denny’s all gone – the brick wall is continuous the entire length with the opening paved walkway at Hoover and Jefferson.
A huge number of large white plastic bags standing 5+ feet tall – rectangular prism shaped – looked like they’re getting ready to re-turf Howard Jones Field. Jefferson still has ‘2 lanes’ both ways – rumor I heard was they were planning on reducing it to one each way.
Returned driving north to Adams then east over to Broadway south past Jefferson, Exposition and as I approached MLK saw a sign read ‘$40 parking’ – a bit dicey parking east of the 110 but there it was….straight so. from there to 43rd then west to Flower – on to the S/B 110 – outta’ there.
How about taking the subway to the game? Would that save $$ and waiting in the traffic jams?
#fireclayhelton
coach Helton wins AP coach of the year in 2018. Book it! Best defense in nation and no Sam turnovers and mistakes to kill our offense. Fight on!!!
Is that because Sam is gone to the nfl or he worked through how to hold and protect the ball. I see they give lessons on the sidelines during live game action. LOL
Either he goes or cleans it up. Either way it’s good
Instead of LOL you should have put OL, it has to improve no matter who the QB is next season.
There’s only one coach on USC’s staff worth keeping right now and that coach is Clancy Pendergast. The defense is the only part of the team that has consistently shown improvement. The defense coached by Pendergast was the only part of the team that was up to the task of playing a quality opponent. The Notre Dame game was a fluke, that loss also stemmed from an offense that could do nothing with the ball and a defense that had been on the field much too long all season up to that point.
Clancy had his defense prepared for Ohio St. USC would be better off putting Clancy in charge as head coach and letting him find an offensive coordinator rather than to continue having Helton in charge without a clue of what he’s doing. Helton has had everyone and his brother calling plays for the offense. The Trojans were playing their biggest game of the year and Helton has his QB coach calling the pass plays against Ohio St.? Are you kidding me? If Helton doesn’t trust his offensive coordinator, Tee Martin, to lead the offense (and he hasn’t ever) then why is Tee Martin still offensive coordinator? For the record, Tee Martin is as clueless as Clay Helton is.
This talk about bringing in Jack Del Rio, Greg Schiano, Jeff Fisher and or Lane Kiffin, that’s just stupid beyond belief. None of those overrated underachievers would be a good fit for USC. And up until a few years ago Jack Del Rio was on the outs with USC administrators and wasn’t so welcome around campus.
Pat Haden burned bridges to quite a few quality head coaching prospects USC could have hired. Justin Fuentes, Tom Herman, Chip Kelly, Chris Petersen, any of those 4 given the talent USC has on this team would make the Trojans legitimate contenders immediately, but Like I said, some of those bridges have been burned beyond compare and Lynn Swann doesn’t have the stones or authority to make a move of that magnitude anyway which leaves USC pretty much stuck with Clay Helton .
So if USC is going to try and go forward with some of the current coaching personnel then put Clancy Pendergast in charge since he’s the only member of the coaching staff who knows what the heck he’s doing. Clay Helton has shown you all that he is capable of and that isn’t much other than being able to survive against soft opponents and getting out coached and humiliated against quality opponents.
The running backs coach is the only one to keep, fire the rest of them
#fireclayhelton
Deland McCullough did do a good job considering the offensive line wasn’t learning anything from that clown Neil Callaway. Jones and Carr basically had to gain all their yards by their own self because there was no blocking to speak of with Callaway’s pathetic schemes.
There’s no blocking on kick off returns either. Maybe it’s not Callaway. Maybe USC just has a thing about blocking. Period.
So true. USC’s special teams has fallen apart. No effort to create any lanes. Total lackluster scene out there. Needs clean-up and attitude change bad.
Easy to see why USC fell behind 24-0 to OHIO ST and it wasn’t the refs. The sooner Helton gets real about the team’s deficiencies, the better chance he has of ever surviving more than 1 more year.
It was sad to watch. I’m not sure we got past the 15 yard line more than once. It got to the point I was saying “Look! It’s gonna hit at the two—-just let it go into the endzone! Please don’t field it!”
Don’t feel bad. LSU had a guy today field the kick on a bounce at the 1 and was tackled at the two.
If I remember right, when AJ was scaring the heck out of kicking teams, the special teams coach was a genius.
I kinda suspected that about Lynn Swann, because his selection of the Women’s basketball coach was comical
Clay Helton’s offense left Clancy Pendergasts defense out to dry, it’s the same thing Steve Sarkisian did to Justin Wilcox
Yup – nothing is worse for the morale of a defense than a pathetic offense that continuously goes 3 and out or in Darnold’s and USC’s case last Friday – fumble….pick….pick….
That’s why it’s so amazing that the defense NEVER gave up, Alv. You would’ve thought, after repeatedly watching Sam and Company stop moving the ball every time they got close to the red zone, they would have just packed it in at some point. But they didn’t!
You’re right Mike well said! That’s a credit to Coach Predndergast who wasn’t about to have his staff and players dumped into the same ineptitude and ‘quitting time’ the offense showed from the first series –
Man this Rose Bowl is fun to watch
Yes, Alv! A game played by two teams who aren’t out to prove they “don’t belong.”
This game is like a see-saw back-and-forth over-and-over….GA looks a lot better due to that fight for that FG at then end of the 1st half. That was so absent Friday night and as good as Sam has been frankly that’s all on Darnold’s effort.
Agreed. Sam picked a bad moment for a stinker performance.
SC may need to have a Turnover Chain for the offense.
Thanks! Wow. That was perfect. Very seldom to I laugh out loud at a post.
#GenrallyIJustSmile
The defense did a very good job anyway didn’t they?
Dobbins rushed for 1400 plus yards and over 7 yards a carry. In Cotton Bowl, he rushed 13 times for 39 yards.
That’s exactly right. The Trojans defense could have folded vs Ohio St., but the way they hung in there and shut out the Buckeyes in the second half was extremely impressive.
Not sold on Justin Wilcox. I’ll never forget that Stanford game where McCaffery caught a screen pass coming out of the backfield and took it something like 75 yards and Helton asked Wilcox who was supposed to be covering McCaffery and Wilcox said, “I don’t know”. That answer from Wilcox, beyond ridiculous.
I agree with every word of every point you make —-except the Chip Kelly part. Chip would never have come to USC. Insiders know that Chip had his heart set on an 80 yard practice field and the opportunity to one day work with next year’s Heisman Winner, Devon Modster.
#OnlyTheVeryBestWillDoForChip
Remember when Kevin Prince was going to win the Heisman?
Who ?
The ruin QB when Skippy was head coach.
It must have been such a disappointment for the bruins when Prince couldn’t complete over three passes against USC.
#”OffDay”….
#HeismanDreamDiesSadDeath….
Remember how slow and fragile he was? Like Rosen without the arm.
Rosen without the arm! Hilarious. [I sincerely hope that doesn’t turn out to be an apt description of Jack Sears —as some early reports seem to indicate].
I recall seeing Neuheisel at a local farmer’s market following the SC game. It was obvious he was only there because his wife dragged him along. Baby blue baseball hat pulled down as far over his face as it would go, as his wife was picking over heads of lettuce…
It could have been worse, trojan_1972 —he could have been at that farmer’s market alone —dressed as his wife.
#ItHappensToBruinCoaches
#SomethingToLookForwardToW/Chip
MG, yes, the chipper needs a man bra in any case….
Luckily, there are some great ones available on Amazon.
#HopeHeModelsItDuringSpringPractice…
#NOTHINGGetsATeam’sAttentionFaster…..
MG, you are hitting on all 8 – impressive after a New Year’s Eve! Are you looking at a couple of afternoon showers, followed by 78 degrees later today?
The weather in our part of Maui looks great right now —very few clouds in the sky. [Our biggest problem is the vacationing college kids still partying next door. When they nicely invited me and my wife to join them last night, I had to explain that trying to keep up with them would probably kill both of us].
Indeed – they go out sprinting, and then they keep it up! Rehydration, my friend!
Very good advice, my friend —-I feel like going next door and passing it on (right after I call the Maui police).
Is there a more experienced police department than the Maui guys when it comes to visiting college kids and partying?
Response time –7 hours. First question to complaining witness –“is this really such a big deal?” How can you beat that?
7 hours – hilarious! Do the kids invite the cops in for a Blue Hawaiian?
We had TWO cop cars on patrol in our neighborhood from 10 to midnight. It would have been easy to get asked inside —all they needed to do was get out of their cars.
Maui police:
#ItisGoodWorkIfYouCanGetIt.”
Did you do some shots?
Truthfully, I enjoy drinking when I’m celebrating, gt. On the 29th, after the game, I just sat under the Christmas tree saying “why?” —-sorta like the bad ending segment in Wayne’s World where Mike Myers loses Tia Carrere and his house blows up.
Where’s his SC School of Law hat?
He had it with him, gt. But it was cleverly hidden under his clothes in a place no one could see it…..
Hilarious. How was your eveing. I know I was in bed by the time your party even started. lol
I feel ill. Damn those young people who can party two nights in a row w/o sleeping!
Did you drown your sorrows over the Cotton Bowl like I did?
I did something MUCH worse, gt —-I re-watched it! It’s hard to see Sam looking over at the sidelines for 20 seconds while the coaching staff keeps modifying and “fine tuning” the call! I’ve never seen that happen SO many times before —-and I’m including high school games
Wow, I need at last a week before I watch a loss on replay.
I guess you can chalk it up to morbid fascination —–like re-watching the ending to The Island of Lost Souls with Charles Laughton.
#YouKnowYou’dBeBetterOffResistingIdea
Reminded me of Penn State in last year’s Rose Bowl. First the oversized flash cards and now this routine. What next?
Why would we want Chip? All I read about here is how we need to be more physical and then people want Chip? His Oregon teams were never accused of being physical.
Agreed. Chip was never the answer for USC —-but, then again, he was never the answer for UCLA either. The Bruins will lose 3 or 4 games next year —-and the thrill will be gone. But they’ll have to live with their “prize” for years. I think that’s nice.
Agree 100%. I do think they had to go for a splash hire, but those rarely work out. Look at Charlie Strong and Sumlin. Many of the arm chair QBs wanted both of those guys here at SC. If we go down to Austin and beat UT again where does that leave Herman? Lots of critics here who truly don not know what they are talking about and can’t even dissect why we lost or why we did or didn’t move the ball. Their solution is to start over when their mythical standard isn’t met. Nobody likes the loss Friday, but few on here even know why or how we lost. They blame it on what feels emotionally comforting for them.
Ha! I’m ONE of those people who looks for easy, simple answers after every loss, Brent. It takes me about 3 days to get sane again. After re-watching the game, I’m puzzled at the # of times Sam looked to the sidelines, nodded, started to set up, realized he was still getting signals, nodded again —and was ultimately faced with a clock down to three seconds. The other thing that struck me is the difference between Sam’s last pass to Deontay in the Rose Bowl —-right between closing defenders —-and his last pass to Deontay in the Cotton Bowl endzone —where he needed some heat on the ball and he just floated it. I’m wondering if the difference is a “confidence” thing. What do you think?
#Can’tBlameThatPassOnTheCoaches
SD has been off this year. In many ways it’s a miracle we won the conference w the turnovers coming from the QB position. We literally led the nation in fumbles from a non running QB. He missed Deontae on a crossing route which would have been a TD and in the corner of the endzone. He threw another into triple coverage that should have been picked. No doubt the non PI in the endzone and missed fg were killers.
When a healthy McGrath missed that easy field goal it was like he was auditioning to play for Pete up in Seattle.
I question whether he is 100% healthy.
That could be it, steveg. Or it could be that they rested him up so much he didn’t get the practice time he needed.
That in itself is a sign Sam needs more PT. Not practice or camps, playing time. He can get that in college where in the nfl it will count against him making those big mistakes. I am sure he is going anyway though.
Watch the post game presser, steveg. When a reporter asked Sam if he had made up his mind whether he was leaving, he blinked before saying “not yet.”. In poker, a definite ‘tell.’
USC lost because Clay Helton isn’t a good head coach. What head coach in their right mind would allow some QB coach that no one ever heard of, who was three weeks into the job, call the pass plays for the Trojans against an 11-2 Big 10 champion Ohio St. team in the Cotton Bowl? Essentially handing over 2/3’s of all offensive play calling to a newly appointed QB coach? What’s there to dissect other than the same incompetence Clay Helton has consistently shown in his lack of coaching ability that he has shown week in and week out since he was named USC’s head coach.
“can’t even dissect why we lost”? No, you can’t seem to figure out the obvious, Clay Helton isn’t a good head coach, that’s all there is to it.
It ain’t rocket science.
Your taking SW inside info as accurate?
But next year they will claim Chip is rebuilding so they won’t expect anything.
Yep —that’s exactly what they’ll say, gt. (But) After the last two years with Mora, bruin fans are going to get impatient real fast.
bruin fans? Is there such a thing?
“rebuilding” = manana at ucla…coach after coach…
Show Cause Chip doesn’t bother me at ucla in the least. What’s he gonna do? See if he can run 150 plays a game? The CFB world is onto him. The NFL is done with him. USC will hammer him, like we do with the rest of the weak P12.
Truthfully the only scenario that worries me with Chip (other than having to watch him eat Mcnuggets & french fries on the sidelines during games), is him annually NEEDING the win over USC to justify his existence cuz he’s already out of bowl contention (and I guess even that doesn’t worry me all that much).
Chip is awful when it comes to evaluation of talent. In Philly, the chipper released Desean Jackson, traded Foles for Bradford, traded away LeSean McCoy. Demarco Murrary told the owner that Kelly shouldn’t be their head coach.
As anyone who knows me in the slightest knows I don’t usually make this kind of accusation —-but it’s a little hard not to notice that Chip doesn’t relate that well with strong willed minority players. Getting rid of Jackson was a case of biting off his nose to spite his face. This “attitude” is gonna hurt him at UCLA.
Absolutely right, MG. More broadly, Chip has a think skin. He is probably a better match for sitting alone in his office, scribbling x’s and o’s, as an offensive coordinator, than as an HC. Chip benefited from the Nike money machine at Oregon, and an administration that was much more favorable towards football than is the non-athletic administration at UCLA., I expect that both Chip and UCLA will be in for some surprises.
Yep. Chip is no racist —he’s just a condescending snob who wants people to get in line. Well, that ain’t gonna play too well at UCLA. This could get good.
Exactly!
Can you imagine Chip with one of Lavar Balls kids on his team?
Now, there is a match made in Heaven..
That actually is a very funny thought, steveg.
Besides Clancy, there are a couple of position coaches that did a fantastic job. The RB, LB and DL coaches all improved their players. Also we are not firing Helton. The instability will hurt the program. Let’s see what position coaches go and which ones stay. These decisions, will make or break Helton’s future. The talent is there and is consistently coming with every recruiting class. Our future will be bright. Fight On!
Clay Helton can’t even decide on who should be calling the offensive plays. In the biggest game of the year for the Trojans, Helton hands over the pass play calling to a QB coach that was just put in place to replace his brother…and against Ohio St.?
Come on, if that isn’t the definition of clueless!
And some of you want to keep Helton in place? The instability in Helton’s decision making is what’s hurting the team and will eventually hurt the program as more and more recruits see that Helton is incapable of developing the talent he’s been given.
I gotta say, it is bizarre that Bryan Ellis, with less than 3 weeks of experience as QB coach, is calling pass plays. In the Cotton Bowl. After being originally hired as offensive administrative assistant.
Yeah, the guy came out of nowhere and Helton has him calling pass plays against Ohio St.? How stupid was that? It’s obvious Helton doesn’t trust Tee Martin with the offense so why have him there as offensive coordinator?
If that is true. Did you hear that from anyone besides Wolf?
Just from Wolf’s reporting.
this is really a discipline issue. there is a difference between a friend and mentor and a coach that players follow/fear.
We’ll see if Clancy is given a contract , I think he got a 2 year deal when he came to USC, or if some dope hires him in the NFL which I don’t see.
There may be as many as 14 head coaching firings in the NFL so opportunity a plenty for the assistants.
The Giants just released ALL the assistants.
Clancy is not all in because he doesn’t want to recruit. Get coaches and players who want to put everything on the line.
Clancy is not just a defensive coordinator, he’s also coached linebackers and defensive backs, so he could leave and work as a position coach or a coordinator.
He is capable of working in the NFL, that’s where he has spent most of his time coaching at.
RB and DL did a great job this year. What really needs to be addressed is pac 12 officials. We are clearly policed much different then the rest of the country. OSU had several take downs thatin the PAC 12 are easy penalties. Did our online all of a sudden play such a clean game, not a single hold all night on either team?
When I saw what Ohio Sate was getting away with in the holding department (they had one on virtually every one of their big plays), I started thinking, “that seems the way to go in this game—we should be doing that every play.”
Clancy P. Hmm. Interesting…
Interesting… But… Clancy does not like to recruit so they say, right?
A head coach that doesn’t like to recruit Hmmm.?
Well, we’ve had a string of great recruiters w/out seeing results. I say we give recruiting the “aloof approach” for a change……
#And,Boy,IsClancyTheGuyToDoIt
Not so sure naming Pendergast as HC. The HC also requires some people and communication skills for folks outside the team (alums, donors, press, etc.) and Pendergast has not shown he has that. Word is he doesn’t even recruit. If he has trouble selling himself to high school kids, he might not be the best guy to speak on the program’s behalf as HC. Good X’s and O’s guy but maybe not the right guy for the large L.A. market. Think Kiffin here.
And, great assistants don’t always translate to great HC’s. Paul Hackett? Charlie Weis? Dirk Koetter? Charlie Strong? There are quite a few names out there that had high expectations but flamed out miserably. I’d be skeptical at this point at naming Pendergast HC just because of a good bowl game plan.
Anyone who thinks Clancy “I won’t recruit, I hate to talk” Pendergast is a bonafide USC permanent HC is a bonafide idiot. Congrats pot*ard. You hit the jackpot again screwball.
As usual your lack of comprehension precedes you. You’re the “bonafide idiot” who kept wanting to give Kiffin and Sarkisian another year and another year even after they had shown they weren’t worth a crap. You were 0 for 2 then and you wanting to give Helton another year and a contract extension for winning 11 games vs mostly a bunch of soft opponents is beyond stupid. It’s a good thing no one takes you seriously.
Your clown act is hilarious. LOL!
Now run along Bozo, we’re discussing big business here.
Liar. Get some new material. Even a feeble brain like yours should be able to come up with something he hasn’t said 1000X before.
Go back to contemplating your navel and Clancy’s future as USC’s new HC. Only a centipede could come up with that.
You’re the stupidest poster here and have been for quite some time. Let us all know when Clancy becomes the new USC head man, idiot.
the defense isnt perfect, but you can tell it is well-coached. the offense has incredible individual talent and yet it cant execute…which is a sure sign of poor coaching. the lack of discipline goes right to the top of the coaching.
2018 will be the second year of the Sunshine Pumpers, “Just give Helton one more year” theme and we all know how well that theme worked out for them when they were saying the same thing about Kiffin and Sarkisian. The Sunshine Pumpers were wrong about Kiffin, they were wrong about Sarkisian and they’re just as wrong about Clay Helton.
Just get rid of Clay Helton now so that USC can at least look like they want to or are trying to get better. Why wait? Helton has shown you what he’s capable of and that isn’t much other than barely being able to compete with teams he should have had USC blowing out and getting his arse handed to him by quality opponents.
USC Trojan football players deserve better than Clay Helton, doesn’t matter how nice the man is, the fact remains, Helton can’t coach.
ND/LSU will put you to sleep.
FSU/Auburn is looking like a better game. Especially with FSU leading at the beginning of the 3rd.
Auburn UCF tied 13-13.
The shine is way off Ed O. It’s gonna be a rocky off-season for the big guy in Baton Rouge.
So how many wins next year after the Trojans are without Darnold, Jones, Green, Burnett, Smith and possibly a few others will be enough for the Sunshine Pumpers to keep up with the “Just give Helton one more year” routine? 5 wins? 6 wins? LOL!
Maybe USC needs to talk with Bill Musgrave former offensive coordinator for the Oakland Raiders. The guy Jack Del Rio fired that helped lead the Raiders offense to the playoffs with a 12-4 record and then was promptly fired by Jack Del Rio for doing so.
If USC is going to keep Helton then force Helton’s hand into hiring a legit offensive coordinator (Bill Musgrave if he’s available).
No reason to keep Tee Martin around if Helton is going to allow some no name, three weeks into the job QB coach nobody ever heard of to supersede Martin’s play calling duty as supposed offensive coordinator.
Clay Helton is horrible. ..he is in way over his head if you want to beat 5-7 and 6-6 teams and struggle at it he is your coach…..but if you want to beat elite programs to win a national championship he is worth less.
It’s not that USC gets blown out by the more physical, big-time opponents, it’s that the Trojans can barely beat the bad ones, either. Too many close games against vastly inferior (talent-wise) teams means your head coach is in over his head,no two ways about it.
Fight On, Lynn Swann!
i just heard the Clemson coach interviewed at half-time. no excuses. he listed all the things his team did wrong. says that they played as bad as possible and lucky to be down just 7. that is what is missing at USC. reality and responsibility. own it clay, you cant fix it until you own it.